On saturday, I built a first prototype of my search and rescure game Saviors! Today, after some search to find the right material, I built an advanced prototype and I hope that I will soon be able to bring it in front of a group of test players.

Here are a few pictures, enjoy!

A building struck by an earthquake. We are missing many people and they are somewhere under this huge blocks of steel and cement.

This evening I did some prototyping for an old game idea of mine, Saviors!

In Saviors! you control a rescue group whose aim is to provide human aid in distaster zones world wide. Your goal is to save the lives of as many people as possible in places hit by disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, avalanches or volcanic eruptions.

I tried to figure how I could set up a very simple puzzle based system with an emphasis on limited time. I chose a earthquake scenario in which I had to rescue a family and their dog.

So, here’s the story (picture quality isn’t the best btw, my apologies):

An earthquake has struck! We're looking for a family supposed under this debris that was once a building.

Where to start digging?

Time is limited so we just start from somewhere. Bigger pieces cost us more turns/action points.

Hurra! We've found a dog and then a baby!!!

Oh, we've found the father! He's breathing, but badly wounded...

And there are the legs of the mother... her head and torso are under a pillar, that looks really frightening....

We've removed the pillar and the mother isn't as bad as it looked first. Oh and what's that?: We've found the little son of the family!

We've sent the son first because the mother is ok and will survive whereas the little boy needs some urgent treatment

The remains of our mission... we did a good job, except the poor dog. But it was too late for him already :(

Part I of my new article Prototyping: An Odyssey is up on GDAM (Game Design Aspect of the Month). This month’s rally is on Prototyping and so far three game designers have contributed with their articles. The GDAM subjects in the past were 2-3 Hour Games, Player Death, and Trends of Simplicity. There is a lot of good stuff there so please check it out!

I must admit that I was enchanted by [the Proteus] myth. It was a wonderful metaphor for prototyping and captured its essence perfectly. Let’s look at the elements of this myth:

• Metamorphoses: the ability to assume many forms in rapid succession.
• Prophecy: the revelation of the mistakes you were unaware of at the time you made them; and directives on what course to take in order to repair the damage that they have done.
• Exactitude (As an extension of the Prophecy element): The Oracle of Delphi carried the inscription “Know thyself!”, an inscription that has been often interpreted as “Know your problem!” or “Have a clearly formulated question!”. Otherwise the answer of the Oracle will sound cryptic and useless.
• Teamwork: You can’t fasten Proteus all by yourself; you need the help of a group of dedicated and determined people.